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A month ago, Sunday’s contest pitting the Indiana Fever and host Washington Mystics seemed like it could have been one of the league’s premier matchups.
It’s lost much of its luster since then.
The matchup was moved from Washington, D.C, to a larger arena in Baltimore in anticipation of superstar Caitlin Clark drawing massive attention. Clark, however, announced Thursday that she would miss the rest of the season due to a groin injury.
This matchup also could have been a deciding factor in the playoff hunt. Washington was fighting for a postseason berth at 16-18 at the time, however they’ve since dropped eight games in a row and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Mystics have averaged a paltry 70 points per game during their skid and have lost five contests by double digits.
With its young core in place, Washington is now looking beyond the 2025 season.
“This is the best league in the world, you’re going to lose some,” forward Alysha Clark said after Washington’s 75-69 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. “But it’s a process, when you’re in this stage of … building for the future in that way.”
Indiana (22-20), even without Clark for most of the season, has kept a tight grip on its playoff spot. The Fever reside as the seventh seed and control their own destiny. A win over the Mystics would earn Indiana consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 2015-16.
Fever coach Stephanie White said the team can’t focus on those achievements yet.
“After the season, I’m sure when we reflect, we’ll be able to come from a different perspective, but right now we’re hungry for more,” White said.
Since a porous five-game stretch in which it allowed 90.8 points per game from Aug. 12-24, Indiana’s defense has tightened up. It has conceded an average of 77.4 points in the team’s last five games.
The Fever’s leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell has posted 20 and 29 points, respectively, in her last two games. But the All-Star guard is averaging 17.3 points, shooting 34.7 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range in three games this season versus Washington.
The Mystics’ leading scorer, Sonia Citron, is averaging 15.7 points per game against the Fever this season.
Washington holds a 2-1 advantage in the season series, including an 88-84 win in the teams’ most recent matchup on Aug. 15.
